Bohnengel U.S. Pat. No. 2,425,724 discloses a device for feeding a measuring tape between the wraps of a length of fabric being wound upon a mandrel to form a bolt. Such a measuring tape usually in accurately marked in yards and serves two functions. First, by feeding the tape into the fabric as it is wound upon itself a very accurate measurement of the length of the fabric on the bolt is provided by the tape. Secondly, when some of the fabric is removed from the bolt the measuring tape provides an indication of the number of yards still remaining in the bolt and thus gives a quick inventory indication. Such measuring or indicating tapes usually are fabricated from paper in order that they shall be light weight and not pile up and usually are wound into both industrial bolts, which may average 100 yards or so in length, and into retail bolts of lesser lengths.
The Bohnengel patent discloses a device comprising a carriage which is moveable in one direction transversely to the length of the fabric being wound upon itself in order to dispense the tape in a helical path which actually constitutes the hypotenuse of a right triangle, the base of which is defined by the distance of movement of the carriage and the other side of which is the length of the fabric indicated by the length of tape dispensed from the carriage during its movement.
The carriage of the mentioned Bohnengel patent mounts a roll of measuring tape and includes a wheel over which the tape is led on route to the nip between the wraps of the fabric. The tension applied to the tape by its being interwound with the fabric rotates the wheel. The wheel is engaged with a stationary threaded shaft so that as the wheel rotates the carriage is moved along the threaded shaft and the tape is traversed by the carriage so that it winds into the bolt of fabric in the helix in order to eliminate the pile up which would result if the tape were fed from a stationary carriage. When the carriage has been moved to the end of the threaded shaft it is necessary to stop the machine, to disengage the wheel from the threaded shaft and to move the carriage back to the starting point.
A major draw back in this structure resides in the fact that tension applied to the tape itself is utilized to rotate the wheel relative to the threaded shaft in order to achieve transverse movement of the carriage and the tape supply roll. Therefore, because tapes utilized for this purpose are made of thin paper, this tension often snaps the tape. It then is necessary to unwrap the partially wound bolt of cloth in order to remove the length of measuring tape already wound in. The carriage then must be moved back to the starting position on the threaded shaft and a new roll of measuring tape mounted. The winding of the bolt then is recommended from the beginning.
In addition, in the apparatus of this U.S. Pat. No. 2,425,724, it is necessary to stop the apparatus in order to replace an exhausted reel of measuring tape with a new supply.
It is, therefore, the principal object of the instant invention to provide a mechanism for dispensing a measuring tape into the wraps of a length of cloth being wound upon a mandrel which can mount two rolls of measuring tape so that as one is exhausted, the second quickly may be utilized and the exhausted tape replaced by a new roll of tape while the second roll is being dispensed.
It is another object of the instant invention to provide a mechanism for dispensing a measuring tape into the wraps of a bolt of cloth wherein the force for traversing or reciprocating the roll(s) of measuring tape back and forth across the width of fabric being wound is provided by a drive wheel directly engaged either with the fabric or with a part of the fabric winding machine so that the only tension on the measuring tape itself is that required merely to unwind it.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide for automatic reciprocation back and forth of the tape roll mounting carriage thus eliminating the necessity for stopping the machine to return the carriage at the end of each traverse across the fabric.